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Issue 2 (Crash Bandicoot: N-Scapades!)
Crash Bandicoot: N-Scapades! Issue #2 was the second issue of the Crash Bandicoot: N-Scapades! comic series. Summary Detective Tiny in: Cirque du So Lame (Part Two) Picking up from where we left off last time, Tiny pays a visit to his good friend, Dr. Nitrus Brio, in Brio Hotel's state-of-the-art forensics laboratory. "More guests require this sort of thing than you'd really think," explains Brio. Tiny says that he needs Nitrus to help him in his new detective crime case - he found one of his old, heavy, lead marbles near the scene of Komodo Moe's stumble, and it's covered in some sort of sticky red goo. He thinks he could crack the case if only he knew what the substance was, and that's where Brio and his professional sciencing come in! Brio says he'll do it, but unfortunately the test will take a few hours, so he hands Tiny an envelope containing a card key for the lab, and tells him to come back later. Tiny nods, and spits out his fly gum, sticking it to the underside of the table "so I'll have some for when I come back later too". Then, Tiny happily skips away. Brio pulls out a beaker and guzzles its contents. This one turns him into a chemical analyser! Heading back to Komodo Moe's Circus in the meantime, Tiny is confronted by Dr. Neo Cortex on his way in. Cortex is still hurt that Tiny would be willing to support Moe, when Moe wasn't even kind enough to invite him! Tiny is a bit choked up now. He feels terrible for betraying his Uncle Cortie! The two share a tearful hug, and Tiny promises he'll make it up to him. He'll gladly spend all day with his Uncle Cortie tomorrow! Cortex says he appreciates it, but he'd rather not actually have to spend time with Tiny. "I don't actually want you, I just want your undying devotion." Tiny is deeply touched by this, for some reason. Then, Tiny steps back inside. He takes a relaxing seat by the waterfall, and starts going over the clues in his head. Komodo Moe fell so hard that a big chunk fell off the end of his ornate balancing rod - a crime so heinous that surely someone must pay. He knows Uncle Cortie couldn't have done it, because as he just proved, he's a wonderful guy. But why was famous circus person Komodo Joe carrying a key that couldn't open circus doors? Why does a wealthy and successful "polemical scientist" like Ripper Roo buy the cheapest glue available? And how can Pinstripe Potoroo subsist only on marinara sauce, anyway? And why would he bring a concealable cannon to the show? Suddenly, it hits him - Detective Tiny has solved the case! Tiny eagerly barges into Moe's dressing room to explain the new theory. First, Pinstripe stole Tiny's lead marbles. Maybe he was drinking marinara sauce at the time - that's where the red stains on that marble came from! Then, he used his pocket cannon to fire the marble at Moe, knocking him off the tightrope. He never even left his seat! Moe is intrigued by the theory. He knew that his friend Tiny would come through for him in the end! However, Pinstripe enters the room, and explains that the theory is really stupid, actually. For one thing, he'd have no reason to steal Tiny's marbles, since he always carries around his own supply of pocket-cannon-sized cannonballs with him. "Just think about it for a second - why would I own a pocket cannon if I had no cannonballs for it?" Also, he'd never be filthy enough to leave a marinara stain on anything - he's a suave gentleman, who always carries a supply of moist towelettes around with him. Furthermore, cannons are loud and even a small pocket-sized one firing would not go unnoticed by everyone sitting next to him. And, if Moe got shot with a cannon, he'd know, because it really really hurts! To prove it all, Pinstripe takes out his pocket-cannon, loads a pocket-cannonball, and fires it. Just like he said, it is very loud. The ball strikes Moe in the nose. Just like he said, it hurts like the dickens! Moe confesses that he knew all along that his former friend Tiny would be horribly wrong in the end. He can conclusively say that he did not feel any pain of the sort when he took his tumble, thus disproving Tiny's theory. Once again humiliated, Tiny decides to head back to Brio hotel early, hoping that Brio can make him happy again. Meanwhile, outside Brio Hotel, a not-particularly-good-looking British man and his short fat colleague are unpacking bags from their Victorian horse-drawn cab. Tiny shuffles along, depressed, staring down at the ground, so it's only inevitable that he walks right into them, sending suitcases flying everywhere! Tiny gets up, dusts himself off, and is shocked by what he sees. It's famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his moron assistant Dr. N. Watson! He met them in a dream once! The tiger immediately apologises, and helps pick up the scattered suitcases. Holmes thanks his feline friend for this, and explains that Watson dragged him out on a vacation to Cortex Island in order to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city, but confesses that he finds vacation quite boring. No fun mystery solutions to be had, nor any seven-percent solutions to make up for it! Tiny has no idea what he's talking about, but asks if Sherlie can help with a case he's working on. Watson also says he needs help with a case - namely a suitcase. It's got his lucky socks inside and he absolutely cannot get it open, no matter how hard he chews on it! "Oh, that N. Watson!", exclaims Holmes! Holmes and Detective Tiny make their way back to Brio's lab. Along the way, Tiny explains the peculiar case, namely how Komodo Moe was knocked off the tightrope, and no one has any idea how. It seems like everyone has some good reason for not having done it. Holmes explains that the proper term for this is an "alibi". Tiny proudly exclaims that he visited there once when Dr. Cortex took everyone on vacation to America! At this point, they enter the lab. Brio asks them to take a seat. He finished testing the sticky red substance on that marble. "Was it blood?", Tiny asks, overeagerly. Brio reveals, however, that it was merely red paint. Once again, Tiny is disappointed. Returning his lab card key to Brio, Tiny muses that he's clearly too stupid to be a detective, because he never even figured out what the BH on that card key stood for! Brio says it's a monogram - the letters B and H stand for "Brio Hotel". Holmes points out that rich people like to monogram their keys, as a way of pointing out how they have the wealth to do so. But this just confuses Tiny even more. "But Joe had a mammogram on HIS key and he isn't rich!" At the very least, Tiny hopes to resume enjoying his fly gum, to perk himself back up a bit. But when he reaches under the table, he discovers that it's no longer there! He's taken aback! "Now somebody stole Tiny's gum right from under Tiny's nose!" Brio tells him to calm down - he just spilled a glass of water earlier, which unstuck it from the table. It's still on the floor, if he wants it. Indeed, Tiny does. Meanwhile, after having all this evidence forced upon him in rapid succession, Sherlock Holmes has a brilliant revelation! "If your fly gum is on the floor, then....then I know who did this, and how!" He immediately pulls out a notepad and writes down the solution for his good friend Tiny. Back at Komodo Moe's circus, Tiny has gathered up all the suspects. Clearly reading from Sherlie's notepad, Tiny explains what really happened. Since the beginning of this case, everyone has been puzzled as to how anyone could've attacked Moe. "Especially Moe." After all, everyone was up in the audience. But, he has finally seen the truth - one could've disrupted his performance without moving during the show, if they had actually sabotaged his balancing rod beforehand! When Moe landed, he later discovered that a piece of his ornate balancing rod had gone missing. Tiny assumed it had broken when Moe fell, but clearly the cut is too clean for this to have been an accident. The culprit had a devious plan, and something that one could've only pulled off if he had a big huge brain, access to Tiny's lead marble collection, and low-quality super glue. Immediately, everyone turns to look at the obvious criminal mastermind - it's Ripper Roo! Gasp! Roo's scheme was simple, really. He explains further: First, Ripper Roo used his razor-sharp kangaroo claws to cut out a piece from one end of Moe's ornate balancing rod. Then, he filled it up with Tiny's collection of heavy lead marbles. Finally, he used cheap super glue to reattach the end of the rod. No one knew anything was amiss, but it was. It was. As soon as Komodo Moe stepped into the waterfall, the cascade of water weakened the glue, causing the end of the rod to fall back off. Then, just as soon as the rod was tilted slightly, there was nothing to keep the tiny lead marbles from pouring out in a rapid torrent - and the rapid change in the ornate balancing rod's weight threw Moe off-balance, guaranteeing that he'd plummet to his doom. Ripper Roo just predictably says it's a cute story but professes that Tiny is being ridiculous. Why, he'd have no reason to ever harm Komodo Moe! At this point, Tiny reveals the last piece of the story: The RRM on Komodo Joe's key stands for Ripper Roo Manor. Joe confesses that, yes, without Moe around, nobody's been coming to see Joe's Komodo Brothers Circus anymore. There's been no money coming in, so until he gets back on his feet financially, he's been staying with Ripper Roo. He didn't want to say anything because he didn't want to risk guilting Moe out of pursuing his dreams, "but now it seems kind of relevant". Tiny explains that Ripper Roo didn't want Joe around because it disrupted his swinging solo lifestyle, so he tried to ensure that Moe's show would flop, forcing the successful Komodo Brothers team back together. Ripper Roo bellows that he can't prove anything; Tiny responds, "Then can you tell Tiny why his marble is covered in red paint, the same paint you use when you make your TNT Crates?". The circus's security expert, Labby Larry, concludes that this is evidence enough to handcuff Ripper Roo and haul him into the basement. Though, since Roo's hands are already tied up, Larry cuffs his feet instead. At long last, Detective Tiny gets his reward: a thank-you and a pat on the back from Moe. This makes Tiny very happy, and he skips off, full of joy! Joe approaches Moe, and says he's very sorry to see his show fail like this. And Moe's sorry that he ruined his brother financially. The two share a long hug, and the brothers decide to reunite the old Komodo Brothers act. It'll be the greatest thing ever! Joe looks forward to being able to afford his mortgage payments again! Moe looks forward to "not almost dying"! Meanwhile, outside, Tiny thanks Sherlock Holmes for letting him take credit for it. But Sherlie says it's no big deal. "Clearly you have what it takes to be a great detective. I'd be doing the world a great disservice if I didn't help you up on your feet!" Tiny and Sherlock share a hug now. Then, Dr. N. Watson runs up to Holmes, complaining of having gotten several pencils stuck up his nose. Sherlock says he hates to cut his time with Tiny short, but they should probably go deal with this. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. N. Watson hop onto Alibi-Bye Birdie and ride off into the sunset, as Tiny looks on, wagging his tail, with his chin held high. To no one in particular, Tiny shouts, "One day, Detective Tiny will be the best private ear in the world!" Cortie, who was listening in nearby, suggests that Tiny probably meant "private eye". "Close enough", says Tiny.